Returning Light
by superncisfan039
Summary: SEASON 2 PARKER SERIES BOOK 1: Weeks after Ari's death, the team has been just short of shattered. Can they get through the tough times to come before Parsons makes his move? Also, Vance decides it's psych eval time. Will the team keep their cool as their buttons get pushed, or will they crush under the pressure of the past few months?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is season 2! I have great things planned for this next set of stories. I'm still trying to work everything out, but this is a good start. I hope you enjoy seeing the different views in this story! PLEASE leave reviews!**

Gibbs leaned back in his chair, bored half to death. He looked at the desk next to his. He had to face it. Ziva was gone. She had made her choice, love over job. It was the fair choice, the right choice. After Ziva left, Ari took that desk. He took the desk that was once the woman he killed, Kate Todd. She had been one of the best agents Gibbs had ever had. Now she was dead because of two men: Ari and himself. Ziva had faked the shot that was supposed to kill Ari. It had all come to that. Now she was gone and so was Ari. The only link between it all sat now at that very desk. Christina tapped away at the keyboard, probably emailing her fiancé, Callen.

Christina was the only connection he had to Shannon now. Well, he also had the rules, but Christina was so much like her mother it almost killed Gibbs. She was also like Jenny, the woman who once sat in Vance's chair. Christina leaned back. She had lost the luster in her eyes two weeks earlier. Killing Ari had to be the hardest thing she had ever done. He was the father of her eight-year-old daughter, Tali. Christina didn't like talking about it, and for now Gibbs was letting her have her space. He knew Callen was trying to talk to her about what happened, not that it was going to be easy.

"Parsons has gone completely missing," Tony remarked. Gibbs leaned back and swore in his head. Parsons couldn't go missing. Christina's keyboard tapping froze suddenly. She looked to Tony with flames in her blue eyes.

"You can't be freakin' serious," Christina pleaded. Her Californian spunk still clung to each word.

"I am," Tony confirms. "There's been no trail of him for two weeks now. He's gone." Gibbs pushed the chair back.

"He's up to something," Gibbs remarked.

"I agree, Boss," Tony agreed. He hadn't been exactly the same since Ziva left, even though he probably still saw her every night. Director Vance walked down with Dr. Rachel Cranston, Kate's sister.

"It's time for another psych eval," Vance explained. "I thought you would enjoy having someone you know." Gibbs looked up from his desk and just sighed. He pitied Rachel's position. It was her sister who was lost eight years ago. It was her killer who faked his death. What could Gibbs say now? That he was sorry? That broke Rule 6. Vance turned and left.

"Hello, everyone, I'll try and be brief," Rachel said with a half smile.

"I'm sure you will," Gibbs assured. "This is Christina. Christina, meet Dr. Rachel Cranston, Kate Todd's sister." Christina warmly shook Rachel's hand.

"I'll start with you. Let's go to the conference room, if you don't mind," Rachel ushered. Christina kindly followed.

Christina sat across from the psychologist. Psych evals always made her a bit edgy, but she just took a deep breath and decided to keep calm. Christina well knew who Rachel was. Gibbs and Christina had had many talks on Ari's last deeds. It made swallowing his death a bit easier for Christina. She knew it was self defense, but what would she tell Tali when she began asking about why her father died? Lately her daughter and unborn child were all she could think about. It was them that she kept in mind for each decision she made. "So you're Gibbs' daughter?" Rachel asked first.

"Yeah, I am," Christina answered shortly.

"That must have been some secret to keep all those years," Rachel remarked. So far things weren't getting off to a great start.

"My last name may be Parker, but I'm a Gibbs through and through. We keep secrets not just because we want to, but because we have to. Sometimes it's just for the better," Christina explained.

"OK, then, I'll let that be. It says here you have a daughter," Rachel let be as she flipped through the file. She'd find everything about Ari in that file, and Christina knew. That was the last thing Christina wished to discuss.

"Yeah, I do. Her name is Tali," Christina confirmed calmly. She had to keep her head straight.

"Her father was Ari Haswari," Rachel said, her voice trailing. "I hadn't known Ari had started a family." She swallowed hard and Christina knew why. The loss of Kate was still heavy for Rachel. Christina understood that.

"I know how you feel about Ari. I know what you're feeling. I have walked down that road. I had no idea that Ari was who he was, and had I known I would have kept far away from him," Christina explained sympathetically.

"I know you do. You were a year older than Kelly, weren't you?" Rachel asked. Christina just nodded. "Anyways, it says you were in Serbia on an op when you were 18." Serbia was the start of a career for Christina. She had many friends from that op, including Callen.

"Yes I was," Christina told Rachel.

"That's where you met your now fiancé Callen, correct?"

"Yes we met there. We had started a relationship, but it broke off when we came back to the States. Our paths then crossed once more a few months ago," Christina explained.

"You've had quite a past few months. It must be hard to be living on opposite sides of the country with a baby on the way," Rachel remarked.

"Look, Dr. Cranston, we both decided on that. We could have moved, but we both have jobs we don't want to leave. My daughter has a life here, and I don't want to take her away from that. I also don't want to leave my father when for the first time in my life we're having the most open relationship we can have. Callen doesn't want to leave his team either. We make things work," Christina informed the psychologist.

"I see then. What does he think about Ari?" Rachel asked.

"He understands what's happened. He knows that the past few months have been insane, and he gets that."

"You shot Ari two weeks ago in self defense," Rachel finally brought up. There it was again. Christina shot the father of her kid. She killed the man who had wanted so badly to just have a relationship with Tali.

"It was either me or him. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was going to kill me. I had no choice. He wouldn't have just killed one life, he would have killed two. What would Tali have thought then? I've tried so hard to let her think the best of her father, but had he killed me she would have never forgiven him," Christina told Rachel.

"You think a lot of your daughter."

"Yes, she's the only good to come out of me and Ari."

"What does she think of Ziva?"

"Ziva's close to Tali now," Christina answered. Ziva had been watching Tali when Christina had to stay late at work. She and Tony had started up a relationship, and so Ziva resigned.

"What was Ari like? This is off the record. I just need to know," Rachel said quietly.

"He was a man who just didn't know where he fit in. He was torn between who his father had made him and who he wanted to be. He was cruel, but he could love. I barely knew him, the real him. He hid it all from me," Christina explained. Rachel just nodded.

"You can go. Send Tony in please," Rachel instructed. Christina got up and walked out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I didn't want to post a second chapter this soon, but as this is quickly becoming a favorite I feel compelled to give you the next chapter. I'd just like to say that one of the reasons why I write is to put a smile on the reader's face. I want them to feel like they're in the story, like they can relate to it or can see it happening. I ask for reviews to see what you guys think. I take criticism and compliments. I want to become a serious full time writer, so give me what you can so I can figure out what to work out. I love all those who keep on reading, because to be honest, seeing the numbers on that traffic stat puts a large smile on my face. Thanks to you all and read all the other stuff I have!**

"Hello again, Dr. Cranston," Tony greeted as he sat down. "Where would you like to begin this time?" He wasn't happy that he had to sit here again. He hated psych evals as much as the next guy, and with everything that had happened, she was sure to strike a few blows.

"I would like to begin with you and Ziva," Rachel cut straight to the point.

"Okay then, it started when we kissed while following a lead a few months back," Tony began. "It just happened without a thought."

"I see that," Rachel commented. "Please continue. It seems like this is a topic of interest."

"It's not. I love Ziva. I don't need to discuss it," Tony denied.

"Ok then, what about Christina, how do you feel about her?"

"I'm okay with her. She's a good person," Tony said.

"If it wasn't for Ziva would you like Christina?"

"If it wasn't for Callen and Tali I may have given her a thought," Tony explained. It was true; Christina was beautiful, funny, and nice to be around.

"I'm guessing what happened with Ari really bothered you," Rachel assumed.

"If it did, I'm okay with it now. He's dead and can't hurt anyone else. To me, that's all that matters. He got what he deserved," Tony said.

"Ziva lied to you about him," Rachel pushed.

"She did what she had to do to protect her family. If I were her I would have done the same thing."

"You sound resolved in this, Tony, but at the same time you sound tense," Rachel commented. Tony just swallowed hard. This was getting to him big time.

"I don't have to tell you why I'm tense. You know why I'm tense," Tony snapped.

"You don't need to be harsh, Tony. I'm just asking a few questions. It must be hard adjusting to all the changes," Rachel calmed.

"Don't play games. Yes, it was hard spending four months without a job and being called in to save my boss then learning the new girl is his daughter. Yes, it bothered me being back in California to save a boss because the last time didn't end well. And yes, Ari showed up and Ziva left this job. It is hard dealing with it all. Christina shouldn't have had to shoot him, and it wasn't just him. It was Viv, my first partner. So excuse me if I'm a bit tense over it all because I can't even make sense of it all right now," Tony shot.

"You don't just love Ziva, do you? You also love Christina, but it makes you mad that she's already with someone," Rachel realized. As Tony leaned back in his chair it hit him. Had Christina never been with Ari, never loved Callen, and had Ziva not loved Tony, Tony would be falling for Christina.

"Yes, I do," Tony said quietly.

"You do know that she knew Director Sheppard, don't you?"

"I hadn't realized that. Then again, no one really likes talking about her," Tony remarked.

"I guess that's all I have to ask. Send McGee in," Rachel said.

"I hate her still. I don't care if she was Kate's sister," Tony grumbled. "McProbie, it's your turn. Go." McGee started to stand as Tony sat, staring across at Christina. Something was definitely on his mind. McGee walked into the conference room. Dr. Cranston was grabbing a cup of coffee. He sat at the table and looked around. He knew why Cranston was here. Of course he knew that. Then of course it was the first question she asked as she sat back down.

"So what do you think of Agent Parker? The past few months must have been a shock," Cranston remarked looking up from some of her files and notes. McGee swallowed and thought about his answer. What did he think of Agent Parker? After everything he really didn't know what to think about it.

"Christina's nice. She fits in nicely at least. She's quiet, keeps to herself a lot of the time. I don't really know what I think about her," McGee answered truthfully. Cranston just nodded.

"Well, what do you think about the past few months then?" Cranston asked, looking up again, pen ready.

"I think it's been insane. I'm not holding anything against anyone," McGee replied. He really didn't know what to think. He was yet again stuck in the middle of something before anything ever got entirely explained. He now saw all those moments between Tony and Ziva that he had completely missed, even though he'd been right there with them. What did he really know?

"Come on, Agent McGee, there must be something more. I mean, you learned Gibbs had a living daughter and that she had been sleeping with Ari!" Cranston persuaded. She just wanted to know what had happened with Ari. McGee at least saw that.

"I'm not holding that against her. She's made it quite clear that she didn't know about Ari. If she had, she would have stayed away from him. She's earned her place on this team," McGee stood up for the new agent. She'd been through enough the past couple of months.

"What do you mean by that?" Cranston quietly asked. She obviously held Christina in a low position because of all that happened with Ari.

"She kept her head straight when anyone else in her position wouldn't. She killed someone she once loved, the father of her kid. She kept the secret of her father away from everyone for over twenty years," McGee enlightened the psychologist. She just gazed at him so he continued. "Christina's been through more in the past few months than any of us, and she's handled it better than anyone I've ever seen. She deserves to be on this team more than any of us, besides Gibbs of course."

"I see. You have a lot of respect for her," Cranston remarked, "even though she did love the man who killed Kate for no reason."

"I know she was your sister, and she was like one to me. I know that it must hurt to know he still lived. Let me tell you, Dr. Cranston, that Christina and Tali can't be held to him. They're good people," McGee argued.

"You're stuck in the middle of everything. How does that make you feel?" Cranston asked bluntly.

"I get frustrated at it at times, but I don't really care that much. I know that the team's got my back, and I've got theirs. We're more than a team. We're family. It's hard to be caught up completely in everything," McGee said.

Christina was still angry at that psychologist. She knew what buttons to push, where to make it hurt. It was like because everything seemed to be working out for her and Cranston was left wondering what really happened on that rooftop she had to make it hurt. Christina looked over at her father. They hadn't really talked much at all over the past few weeks. She tried to avoid what happened, but it was still there. Ari was dead, and it was her bullet that killed him. He had traded his life for an attempt at hers because she said she wanted Callen. Funny enough, she wanted Callen still, if only even more. She loved him, and after everything that had happened, that love had gotten deeper. It was more than just an attraction. Oh no, it was much more. It had been established in trust. She had been right all those years ago, when she should have walked away from Ari. Ari was just a physical thing, but Callen was more, much more.

"How bad was it?" Gibbs finally asked. Christina let her head drop to her hand.

"It's like she knew what to press. She knew where to get me. I can't make her feel any better about anything," Christina answered.

"Don't let her get to you, Christina. She may be rough, but we just have to suck it up," Tony remarked from his seat across from hers.

"I'm betting yours was also a battle," Christina guessed with a raised eyebrow. Tony just smiled.

"Oh, Christina, you think you can get me to tell what she asked. I'm sure you can figure it out," Tony laughed. McGee walked back into the room, quiet as usual. Cranston walked in behind him.

"Your turn, Gibbs," she ushered back to the conference room. Christina watched as Gibbs followed behind the woman.


	3. Chapter 3

"I know you think I need to be asked all about what's gone on. I can't explain it to you, Rachel. I can't help you," Gibbs told the psychologist.

"You told me, assured me, he was dead. I'm willing to look beyond that. Why did he fake his death?" Rachel asked. "I need to know."

"He did it out of love for Christina, a love she only half felt. He understood that when he signed off to try and kill her," Gibbs explained. It was still something he had trouble swallowing. Ari could feel emotion.

"I had never thought he could feel something," Rachel remarked quietly. Gibbs just leaned back, keeping in mind a recent conversation he had had with Ziva.

"Ziva said that at his funeral she met another woman Ari was also in love with, supposedly," Gibbs told Rachel. He hadn't told Christina. She had opted out of going to the funeral, and Gibbs didn't blame her. She didn't need to know any of Ari's other lives he tried to live.

"She doesn't know," Rachel said, talking about Christina.

"No, I told Ziva not to tell her. She doesn't need any more on her plate. She's struggling, but she'll get there. She'll be okay," Gibbs assured. Rachel just nodded.

"What was it like; finding out that Christina was your daughter?" Rachel asked, preparing her pad and pen.

"To tell you the truth, I was surprised Shannon never told me. She had kept it away from me while I was in training because we had just gotten married and her sister had convinced her to keep it a secret. Sarah always works some angle," Gibbs explained. "She's a good woman, Rachel. She'll surprise you if you give her a chance. She worked hard to get where she is, and she won't give it up easily. Trust me when I say she knows what she's doing."

"I believe you. I just don't know what to think about her. She seems to not know what to think about love," Rachel remarked. Gibbs burst out laughing.

"She knows more about it than I do. She's only been in two relationships, and one's stronger than any I've seen besides maybe me and her mother. She knows what to think about love. Why else would I ever let her break one of my rules, daughter or not?" Gibbs countered.

"I think I can understand that now," Rachel laughed in returned. Gibbs leaned back in the chair.

"She'll get out of this," Gibbs remarked quietly.

"She's close to breaking," Rachel pointed out. Gibbs just sighed.

"That doesn't mean anything. She's been in that position before, and she's bounced back. She's going to be just fine," Gibbs defended. Rachel slowly nodded.

"I hope for her sake you're right," Rachel commented. Gibbs saw straight through her kind guise.

"The only thing you hope for is for her to break. You don't want to accept that she was with Ari for a while, that Ari had a kid. Trust me; I still have trouble accepting that. That doesn't mean you get to blame Christina, because you don't. Kate wouldn't," Gibbs snapped.

"You're right," Rachel quietly agreed, her voice almost faltering. "My sister wouldn't blame her because she was so blind to the evil in others. At times I wondered what she was getting herself into. At times I wondered if she could really be doing what she was doing because she always saw the good."

"Kate was a good woman. She was an amazing agent. If anything, she'd be proud to say Christina was on this team," Gibbs retorted. Rachel just glared across the table. She was searching to say against Gibbs. She knew she'd lost. She just wanted to keep on fighting, and Gibbs wasn't going to take it.

"None of this should have happened," was all Rachel had to say. It was right. There was too much that had happened that shouldn't have happened. The team was about to break. Gibbs knew it. He could feel the tension and he hated it. He hated it more when he felt it in himself.

"No, none of it should have," Gibbs said quietly.

**A/N: I've taken all your reviews into consideration, and this upcoming "season" of this series will shock you! Things will not be the same by the end. Keep the reviews coming because I love reading each and every one!**


	4. Chapter 4

Tony sat across Ziva at the table at the café for a quick lunch. He was still thinking over everything Cranston had said. Now he couldn't get Christina out of his mind, even though across the tale sat the woman Tony couldn't live without. At least, he thought he couldn't live without Ziva. The distrust had begun to build again.

"What's wrong?" Ziva asked, probably feeling the distance Tony now felt. She placed a hand on Tony's and Tony almost tensed up.

"Dr. Cranston's back in town," Tony said solemnly. He sighed wishing the words never had to leave his lips. Alas, they had to and there he sat saying them to the person he last wanted to be with. "You and I haven't talked about all that's happened yet," Tony then added.

"No, we have not. I suppose you want to now," Ziva said quietly. She had the look of a child, knowing what was coming. Everything she had kept a secret had caught up to her. She couldn't escape it anymore. Tony couldn't escape it anymore.

"Yeah, I think it'd be a good idea," Tony remarked in a serious tone. Ziva looked down at the table with a sigh. "You lied. You said Ari was dead. You've known for years that he was alive," Tony almost attacked.

"I know Tony. What would you have done? What if someone you loved needed a fresh start? I couldn't kill my own brother," Ziva fought.

"I thought it was Gibbs all these years. You've both lied about that. You both said it was over and it wasn't," Tony reminded almost coldly.

"Are you going to hold all this against me? I had no choice," Ziva tried to plead.

"I just don't know how much trust is there right now. You and I both know how important trust is, and right now I'm having trouble trying to figure out what to think," Tony said. "I just need time to think all this through." He stood and left some cash on the table. "I'll talk to you later on."

Parsons stared almost blankly at the wall. He had been stuck in this dinky motel room in Maryland for two days now and he was about to lose his mind. He hated being here, stuck with nothing to do. Maybe Ari had been too much. For goodness sake it was a failed plan. That was easy to see now. At least he was off the grid, for now. He knew Gibbs was searching for him. He knew the pieces being played, and how to work the board. He was going to win this, and the ultimate goal was one person no one was going to see coming.

Parsons laughed. His plan was brilliant. Every piece was connected to another, and the end goal was the one piece they didn't even know they had in common. They didn't even realize the true war being waged. All they saw was what Parsons wanted them to see.

Christina sat lost in thought. Why would Parsons run? They had so little on him that they would never be able to get the warrants they needed. As a law officer he would know that. So why run? Why hide yourself? There was something else being played something no one saw. "We need to start thinking through this in a different way," Christina announced to McGee, Tony, and her father. Gibbs looked up from his computer.

"Think about it," Christina continued. "Why would Parsons run knowing we have close to nothing usable on him? He knows something we don't. Thinking through, all that's happened as been surrounding me and Jethro and any connection we have to people. Tali's my daughter and Ari's her father."

"You're right," Tony said, standing. "And Viv knew Gibbs. He was even the first one played. He's playing all of us so he can find someone we're all somehow connected to."

"Then who or what are we all connected to?" McGee asked. Gibbs looked at the window thinking.

"I don't know yet," Gibbs said, "but I don't think this is gonna be easy." Christina looked to Tony. What did they all have in common? The answer wasn't clear, but it seemed like she and her father were the closest to whomever or whatever it was.

Christina took out her pad and pen and started writing. Gibbs was first. Then Tali was taken. After that Christina was almost killed, ending the lives of Ari and Viv. They were connected to both Christina and Gibbs. She thought on that. The whole team was affected by all of that. That was the goal for now. Parsons wanted to distract them. But maybe he couldn't stop someone else who was even closer to this answer. That's when it hit her. The closest person to her and Gibbs was simply Callen.

Then Christina thought harder. He was the only one who hadn't yet been affected. It was like dominoes. Parsons was trying to push down those farther back to test the waters. It was a chain, and the answer was with Callen. But what did Callen have? Maybe it was something he didn't have. That would explain why the rest fell into place. Why start indirectly with Christina through Tali and Ari? It was a father/child thing, something Callen didn't have.


	5. Chapter 5

"Callen, have you found anything else on your father?" Christina asked. She was alone at home, Tali off at a friend's house for the night. She had her computer in front of her and the little leather notebook that once more found its way into her house on the bed.

"Not lately, I haven't," Callen said. He had just gotten off of work and sounded tired. Christina knew that Callen realized his father was alive. They both knew it had to be.

"Tell me if you do. I think he may be connected to everything that's going on," Christina said.

"Do you still have no leads on Parsons?" Callen asked.

"No we don't and we didn't have any time to check further. We had our psych evals today," Christina explained.

"I hate those," Callen sighed. "How bad was it?"

"Try the fact that they were done by the sister of the agent Ari killed. She knew exactly what to ask to push me," Christina said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry about that," Callen half said half whispered. He seemed lost in thought now, distant. Christina knew in her heart that things were not going to be easy from there on out. She knew what was going down. She knew the pieces, but not how they fit together. That much was still unclear, a foreign haze about to lift.

**A/N: Big things about to go down in the next book! EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE!**


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